Milk can dispenser closure



MILK CAN DISPENSER CLOSURE Filed Jan. 5, 1950 INVENTOR. I 7&277A6M2sA'ITD RN EYE Patented Nov. 6, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE MILK CANDISPENSER CLOSURE Tom Lewis, Maryville, Tenn.

Application January 5, 1950, Serial No. 136,960

3 Claims.

This invention relates to devices for providing closures for pouring andventing openings in evaporated and condensed milk cans, and inparticular a cap adapted to be snapped over a bead at the end of a canwith valves for closing openings in opposite sides of the end of the canand means for readily opening and closing the valves.

The purpose of this invention is to provide sealing means for openingsusually punched in the ends of evaporated and condensed milk canswhereby the openings are sealed to prevent contamination of milk in thecans when some of the milk has been removed for use.

Various types of closures have been provided for pouring and ventopenings of evaporated and condensed milk cans, however, owing to thegummy characteristics of the film of milk remaining around openings of acan of this type it is diir'icult to seal the openings. With thisthought in mind this invention contemplates a flat spring elementslidably mounted on the end of a can with ball valve elements positionedto snap into openings in the can, and means for actuating the springelement to withdraw the balls from the openings and rein ert the ballsin the openings after milk is poured from the can.

The object of this invention is, therefore, to provide means forconstructing a closure cap for evaporated and condensed milk canswherein the openings are open as the can is gripped for use and closedwhen the can handle is released.

Another obiect of the invention is to provide a lever actuated valveclosure for sealing openings of milk cans that may be used withoutchanging the structure of the can.

A further object of the invention is to provide a valve actuated closurefor an evaporated and condensed milk can which is of a simple andeconomical construction.

Other features and advantages of the invention will appear from thefollowing description taken in connection with the drawings wherein:

\ Figure l is a plan view of a milk can showing the closurethereon.

Figure 2 is a side elevational view of the can with part broken awayshowing the upper end of the can and the closure elements in section,said sectional part of the figure being taken on line 22 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a similar section showing the valve closure elements in theopen position.

Figure 4 is a view looking upwardly toward the under side of the closurecap.

Figure 5 is a detail illustrating a latch for se- 2 curing the closurecap to the end of a can with the latch illustrated in an exaggeratedposition.

Referring now to the drawings wherein like reference characters denotecorresponding parts the evaporatedand condensed milk can closure of thisinvention includes a cap ID, a spring valve bar ll, an operating leverI2 and a handle l3.

The closure cap [0 may be formed of plastic or any suitable material andthe upper surface is provided with a pouring opening l4 and an openingl5 for a vent. A substantially semicircular flange i6 is provided aroundthe rear portion of the cap and the lower edge of the flange is providedwith a bead ll. The opposite side of the cap is provided with a clip 3with a shoulder is positioned to grip the under side of a bead 20 of acan 2| and the lower end of the clip is flared outwardly, as shown. Theclip I8 is illustrated in an exaggerated position in Figure 5 asobviously it is only necessary to spring the shoulder or jaw l9 outwardsufficiently to clear the bead 20.

The upper surface of the cap i0 is provided with projections 22 and 23having sloping surfaces 24 and 25, respectively, and also a projection25 which is formed with a slot 21 through which the spring bar I!passes. The handle l3, which is channel shaped in cross section extendsfrom one side of the cap l0, being in line with the openings I4 and I5and substantially midway of the semi-circular flange H5.

The spring bar I l is formed with an outer end 28 on the lower surfaceof which a ball 29 is carried, and an inner end 30 on the lower surfaceof which a ball 3| is carried. The bar H is also provided with wedgeshaped sections 32 and 33 which are shaped to fit snugly upon the uppersurfaces of the projections 22 and 23, respectively.

The inner end of the spring bar H is provided with spaced lugs 34 and 35between which a link 35 is pivotally mounted by a pin 31. The oppositeend of the link 36 is pivotally connected to the upper end of the leverl2 by a pin 38 and the lower end of the lever is pivotally mounted inthe handle l3 by a pin 39.

With the parts arranged in this manner the lever I2 will fold into thehandle l3 when the balls 28 and 3| are actuated through the openpositions as illustrated in Figure 3 and when the lever is released thespring in the bar II returns the balls to the position shown in Figure 2for closing a spout opening 43 in one side of the end ll of the can 2|and a vent 42 in the opposite side.

When it is desired to use milk from the can the handle I3 is gripped byhand and the lever I 2 is drawn into the handle, to the position shownin Figure 3, whereby the spring bar II is drawn across the upper end ofthe cap with the sloping surfaces 32 and 33 sliding upwardly on thesurfaces 24 and 25, respectively whereby the balls 29 and 3| arewithdrawn from the openings, so that milk may be poured through thespout 40 with the opening 42 providing a vent.

It will be understood that modifications may be made in the design andarrangement of the parts without departing from the spirit of theinvention.

What is claimed is:

1. A can closure comprising a cap positioned over pouring and ventopenings in the end of a can, said cap having a handle extended therefrom and having openings therethrough correspending with the saidpouring and vent openings of the can, a spring bar slidably mounted onthe outer surface of the cap, valve elements carried by the said springbar positioned to close the saidpouring and vent openings of the can, alever pivotally mounted in the handle, means connecting the lever to thesaid spring bar, and projections with sloping surfaces positioned on theouter surface of the cap for elevating parts of the spring bar to removethe valve elements from the pouring and vent openings as the spring baris actuated by the lever pivotally mounted in the handle.

7 2'. A can closure comprising a cap adapted to be positioned overpouring and vent openings in the end ofa can, said cap having a handleextended therefrom and having openings through the cap top correspondingwith the said pouring andvent openings of the can, a spring bar slid.-ably mounted on the outer surface of the cap, valve elements carried bythe said spring bar positioned to close the said pouring and ventopenings of the can, a lever pivotally mounted in the handle, a linkpivotally connecting one end of the lever to the said spring bar,projections with sloping surfaces on the outer surface of the cappositioned under the said spring bar, whereby as the spring bar isactuated by the lever in the handle, parts thereof slide upwardly on theprojections thereby removing the valve elements from the openings, andmeans securing the cap over a bead on the end of a can.

3. In a milk can closure, the combination which comprises a cap having adepending flange adapted to be positioned over the end of the can, saidcap having openings therethrough positioned to register with pouring andvent openings in the end of the can, a handle extended from one side ofthe cap, a spring clip positioned on the opposite side of the cap forretaining the cap over a head on the end of a can, said cap havingprojections with sloping surfaces on the upper surface, a spring barslidably mounted on the cap and having sloping surfaces coacting withthe sloping surfaces of the projections of the cap, balls carried by thesaid spring bar for positioning in [the pouring and vent openings of thecan, a lever pivotally mounted in the handle, and a link with one endpivotally connected to the lever and the other pivotally connected tothe said spring bar slidably mounted on the cap.

TOM LEWIS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in' the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,050,309 Stankey Jan. 14, 19131,072,588 Duncannfi Sept. 9, 1913 1,245,333 Goldberg Nov. 6, 19171,361,419 Tucker Dec. 7, 1920 1,417,141 Carter May 23, 1922 1,442,652Culver Jan. 16, 1923 2,160,976 Miralti June 6, 1939 2,360,414 GibsonOct. 17, 1944 2,447,870 Polcyn c Aug. 24-, 1948 FOREIGN PATENTS NumberCountry Date 12,430 Great Britain Oct. 17, 1885 659,383 France Feb. 4,1929 34,675 Germany Feb. 23-, 1886

